


One Month

by CosmoandWanda



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Cute, F/M, Fluff, Identity Reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-28
Updated: 2016-07-28
Packaged: 2018-07-27 08:43:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7611298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CosmoandWanda/pseuds/CosmoandWanda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been a month since they found out, and Marinette makes a small mistake.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Month

Mari woke groggily, fearing the time as she checked her phone. Fortunately she had minutes to spare, unlike most mornings. Her patrol with Chat had gone remarkably quick, and in her sleepy haze she failed to remember why. She stumbled from her bed and reached for the outfit she had laid out the night before, a red sheer button down and black shorts. It was a bolder outfit than she normally wore, choosing to stay out of red and black when she wasn’t in her suit. Today, she had felt she needed the confidence. What for, she couldn’t remember. Her usual rush to get ready meant she was done before waking up properly, but knowing she still had time she sat down and flipped open her calendar. Before becoming ladybug, she had loved her morning routine of getting dressed, having breakfast, and coming up to check her calendar for the day. Making lists appealed to her, they gave her a sense of control. As Ladybug, she was always in control, but it took away any control she felt she had as Marinette.  


Her kwami floated down from her bed as Mari flipped through the book, trying to find today’s date.  
“Marinette? You should know what today is,” the kwami yawned. “You and Chat wouldn’t stop talking around it last night.” Mari turned to face the hovering ball of red. The kwami sighed. “Marinette, it’s been a month. Today is one month of you and Adri-” Tikki stopped after seeing her charge slowly turn red.  


“We were not talking around it!” the girl sputtered. “We just.. It’s weird! A month since he found out and I think we both just keep expecting something to happen…” Tikki glanced at her slyly. “OH no not like that! Tikki! N-no, I mean... I mean like...” A giggle from the kwami was enough to hush the girl, who grew as red as her shirt. “We haven’t even kissed yet.” The girl grumbled, opening the trap door and heading downstairs. 

During her walk to school, Marinette furiously texted her best friend.  
Alya: Soo… Gurl whats up?  
Marinette: I’m nervous  
Marinette: Do I say something?  
Marinette: It feels weird to acknowledge it, but it would also feel weird not to??  
Alya: You’re overthinking it ;)  
Mari sighed in annoyance. Alya was right, she was overthinking it, but that knowledge didn’t help her situation in the slightest. Instead, it added to the creeping blush that had engulfed her cheeks and ears. How could she not overthink it? It was one month today of her dating her long time crush, and, not that Alya would know, also a month of her knowing the identity of her partner. She let the memory wash over her as she slowed her pace.

 

***

 

It had been such a ridiculous day. Mari had stomped home from school after Chloe had gone on a ladybug love fest, all while attached to Adrien. Then, as a last straw, she had started her Chat Noir rant. Everyone in the school knew how Chole Bourgeois felt about Chat Noir. Marinette couldn’t take hearing how her partner, her best friend, supposedly held her back, and was useless in battle. After making probably too big of a fuss about it, Mari had left fuming. Surprisingly, she had heard steps chasing after her.  


“Marinette! Wait!” She had made it halfway home before the voice had cried out after her. She turned to see none other than Adrien Agreste jogging down her street to catch up. She flushed, and stood frozen. He stopped next to her, and put his hand on her shoulder as he caught his breath. “You know, you walk pretty damn quickly,” he panted.  


Marinette could do nothing but squeak an apology as a reply, and tried to focus all her energy on not noticing his perfect fingers on her shoulder. He laughed good naturedly, and stood up. It was probably the closest to her he had ever been, and he blushed slightly when he realized she was almost exactly his lady’s height. He coughed and raised a hand to the back of his head, looking away.  


“Um… sorry about Chloe. I saw you get pretty miffed back there, and wanted to check to see if you were okay.” The mention of Chloe’s words darkened Marinette’s eyes, and broke the spell of tension as anger rippled through her body.  


“How can she says things like that? It’s just not true, everyone KNOWS it’s not true, it’s so frustrating!” Mari began, wishing she could return to the conversation as her super persona. Ladybug would be the supreme opinion on Chat’s usefulness after all, forcing Chloe to choose between disagreeing with her idol or switching sides.  


Adrien widened his eyes at hearing a full sentence come out of the small girl’s mouth, and felt a small blush creep up his neck. Could this shy little girl be so mad at Chloe's implications that she and his lady were friends? He knew she wasn’t a fan of Chloe, but to care so much about whether or not a superhero was her friend..?  


He coughed again and started,” Well yeah, everyone knows Ladybug would never actually be friends with Chloe, but I don’t really see what the harm is in letting her believe it.” He grinned sheepishly after catching the expression on Mari’s face. “Sorry, you must hate me now…”  


After a second, she realized the miscommunication, and laughed. “Oh, I don’t care about that. I care that she’s spreading lies about Chat Noir! He’s Ladybug’s partner, they’re equals, he has saved her life so many times and is completely-” She stopped when Adrien broke out into a huge grin.  


“So you’re a Chat Noir fan?” He asked, delighted that not only was he having a full conversation with his usually stuttering friend, but that the conversation was about protecting him.  


“He wishes…” Mari whispered to herself, apparently not quietly enough.  


“What?”  


The girl’s eyes widened as she rushed to come up with anything to say. “No I mean, I am, I-I like Chat, it’s just I like them… both! You know, I like the partnership they have. It’s such a strong bond, and they can move like they’re reading each other’s minds.” Mari stared at her shoe as she realized she had been a little too passionate. She tried to sneak a peek at Adrien to see how badly she had embarrassed herself, and instead was met with a bemused smile. Encouraged, she continued, “If Ladybug had been in that room, she would’ve stormed out too. That’s the partnership she has with him.”  


Adrien was smiling, not looking at her, but rather was fixated on a nearby roof. “Yeah. She would’ve. That silly bug.” The last part was meant to be for himself, but he saw Marinette’s questioning gaze on him. She then turned it to the rooftop he was looking at. She smiled briefly, knowing it was the meeting spot for her and Chat to start their patrols.  


Curious and suddenly brave she blurted out, “Why do you keep looking at the roof over there?”  


He turned to her, trying to control the blush from rising in his cheeks. He had been caught, and though he knew there was no way a civilian would know the importance of that roof, her gaze made him feel like she saw right through his actions.  


“Uh, well- there’s, uh, there’s no real reason…” He inhaled, hoping to change the subject and started again. “Anyway, if you know no one believes Chloe, why did you get so mad?” She cringed, not knowing how to explain her need to protect her partner. “Is it from those times you’ve met him? Got a crush?” He teased, taking a mental note of the way she balked at his question. Her face flashed with smirk before falling into slight horror as she realized that the one person in the world who needed to think she was not in love with someone else, was asking her who she liked.  


“No, everyone knows how big of a flirt he is, it would be hopeless to have a crush.” She rushed, mentally adding ‘because I already have a hopeless crush on you.’  


The rest of their exchange was cut short by Alya running up to the pair, shooting Mari an excited but wondering glance.  


“Girl, sorry, but we gotta go.” The pair waived to a confused looking Adrien, and before they rounded the corner Mari caught him wistfully looking back at the rooftop.

That night’s patrol had started off by Chat trying to sneak up on her, a common occurrence. He crawled silently behind the silhouette of his lady, began to tense, and pounced. She ducked. He gracefully extended a hand and flipped himself upright, grumbling slightly about spoiled fun. He caught her eye and grinned.  


“Bonne nuit ma cherie,” he purred. She laughed and smacked playfully at his arm. He sat beside her, as she made no move to get up. “What’s up, Bug? Cat got your tongue?” Her eye roll was enough to satisfy him. This was their routine when one of them would want to talk about something that happened in their civilian life.  


“No, it’s just…” She looked down at the pavement where her interaction with Adrien had been hours before. She sighed as the memory of Chloe overtook her mind. “A girl in my class was talking shit today. I overreacted.” It was an admission. Marinette had felt bad about storming out after Alya had calmed her down, and then interrogated her about Adrien. Her partner wouldn’t judge her, but admitting to it made her feel ten times lighter.  


Chat stiffened beside her, trying desperately to not make connections. Slowly he asked, “Do you want to talk about it?” She turned to face him, and smiled.  


“Not really. You know that we’re partners, and you could never hold me back. I couldn’t do half the things I do without you.” She gave him a tinkling laugh. “As long as you know, I guess I can live with a few people being pigheaded about it.” She had failed to notice how Chat was eyeing her, as if sizing her up. Chat had not failed to notice how her freckles were the same as another girl he knew. Rising and offering a hand to Chat, she gestured toward the night and they began their patrol.  


He couldn’t stop thinking about her admission, Ladybug rarely ever gave insight into her civilian life,and this one was no more specific than any other. So why had it shocked him so? He grinned, knowing an easy way to test it out. He hurled off towards the left, towards the Dupain Bakery. Ladybug followed easily, but was just far enough behind that he could drop into the alleyway without her having seen where he gone. She stopped on the roof two down from her own, and tried to look everywhere but at the door leading to her bed. Of course that alley cat would bring her here. He would do it without knowing it was her home, the combination of bad and good luck led to coincidences like this far too often. She was anxious to get away from there none the less, and quickly ran out of enthusiasm for their game.  


“Chat?” She hissed, looking around. “Chat, I know you’re here.” A noise came from the alley, forcing her to step onto her own roof, with her own plants. Though she felt comfortable in her ability to hide her familiarity with the balcony, she was on high alert from nerves of being so close to the line she had drawn. This anxiety meant she couldn’t stop herself from whipping around as she heard her name being called from below.  


She couldn’t stop the panic rising in her as she thought she heard her father’s voice come from the store. She couldn’t stop the feeling of needing to bolt. In her sweep to make sure she could vault away without being seen, Chat had hauled himself onto the balcony.  


“My lady? You seem…” He grinned despite himself, “paws-itively stressed.”  


“Not now, Chat! Did you hear the people who live here?”  


He snickered, and bent in for a hug. She stared at him as he did so, arms hanging limply by her sides. All at once his lips were even with her ears, and he whispered.  
“Don’t worry, Bugaboo. I won’t tell.” He waited for her reaction, scared he had ruined everything, He felt her tense in his embrace, but he wouldn’t let her go because he knew couldn't handle her expression as his words sunk in. Blue eyes flashing, she hit him.  


“You ass! How did you figure it out? You were the one who called my name! How- I wanted to keep it a secret! Do you know what you’ve done?” Each question was marked by another blow, that Chat took playfully. He was delighted at the discovery and it overpowered all his nerves. “I’m so mad at you and the most you can do is smile? Say something!”  


“Mari… do you want to know who I am now?” He said over her continued attack on him. Her arms faltered. The seconds long hesitation was all the invitation he needed. “Plagg.. Claws in.”  


Out of habit, she slapped a hand over her eyes. He laughed, and pulled her arm down. “Mari, come on. If we talk now, it’ll be two conversations in a day as our civilian forms, a new record!” She peeked an eye open. Then gasped.  


“A-Adrien?” He smiled at her blush, and heard her murmur the command for her Kwami to detransform. She turned away from him, then back, mouth opening and closing. Her body was ice every time she glanced at him, reliving all the advances, and the kiss. After a few minutes of silence, Chat began to regret outing her.  


“Mari- I’m sorry, I should've pretended like I didn’t realize, but once I had the suspicion from today and your comment a minute ago, I just, I had to try and see…” He ran a hand through his hair. “I can see you’re mad, I’ll go, I’m sorry.” He turned to jump over the railing when her hand shot out and caught his wrist. Her body was still ice, but the second she touched his hand there was fire. In her cheeks, in his ears, and it melted her.  


“Wait,” she said weakly, “I...Do you still like me?” Her whole body glowed with a pink blush as she determinedly looked at the ground. “I mean… you’re not... disappointed? And as Chat noir, you liked Ladybug, is it... Do you… did it transfer?” He stared at her, smile playing on his lips, but eyes wide and confused. Why would he be disappointed? What would possibly make her think he didn’t love all of her? She looked up and seemed to steel herself before clarifying. “Does your affection for Ladybug transfer to be affection for me?”  


“It depends… are you going to shoot me down?” he asked playfully, but quickly realized from the pained expression on her face that he was taking it too lightly. “Hey,” he whispered, “you know how I feel about Ladybug. You are her. So… you know how I feel about you.”  


She threw herself into his arms, fire alighting both of them.

 

The flashback faded away as Marinette remembered she was on her way to school. She resumed her messages to Alya after her phone buzzed in her hands.

M: I’m not overthinking it, one month is nothing in comparison to the time I want us to be together, insignificant even. BUT it’s also our first month, a WHOLE month that I have convinced Adrien that he likes ME. That seems acknowledgement worthy.

She had no reservations letting all her clinginess out to Alya, knowing the girl had sat through her plans to memorize Adrien’s schedule among other shenanigans. Her phone buzzed again, and she smiled, seeing this one was from Adrien. 

Adrien: It sounds like you’re overthinking it, but I’m happy that you think we’ll last a long time too, Bugaboo. 

Marinette stopped dead in her tracks. There was no way that message made sense unless Alya had told him of their conversation, which she would not have done. For all the plotting the young reporter was prone too, this would be too far. Leaving only one answer left...  
Sure enough, the previous message she had sent was to Adrien, not to Alya. Curse same letter names. Her freak-out over the event was cut short by another message from Adrien, reminding her of her ladybug confidence.

Adrien: But just so you know, I’m really excited about it being a month too. Look up, Mari.

She did, bracing herself for a Chat smile, and was instead greeted by a little rose. Adrien smiled through his blush, mustering any Chat he had left in him to whisper, “Happy Monthiversary, Buginette.”

**Author's Note:**

> Just so you know, the whole text your best friend thing is what I did on my one month with my partner of four years. Embarrassed the crap out of myself. First story in hopefully a series of incidents my partner and I have had that would make a cute story. Also my first ever fan fiction.


End file.
